Stuart Reading to Addison

Stuart has to read everyday for homework. This is a difficult task for him. He has a learning disability that makes reading difficult. So he often reads to his stuffed animals. He was so excited to have his baby sister read to. Priceless. Dec 9, 2009

Stuart's Stool

We have some really great Cub Scout leaders in our ward. Bro. Durgin who was recently released helped the boys make these stools. Bro. Durgin cut out all the pieces and then helped the boys put them together. Stuart was so excited when he came home this evening. Pleased with what he had made! Good job Stuart.

1st time mowing the lawn!

Stuart is always (okay, almost always) willing to help. He has wanted to mow the lawn for a long time, but his parents were nervous about it. But last month we decided to let him try it.




Of course Stuart wanted to do the hard part around the trailer, where there are a lot of turns!







He did a great job. Craig was close by (weed wacking) watching to be sure that Stuart was safe.

Ward Variety Show

Tonight our ward had a variety show. Jordan played his clarinet, "Triumphal March". He did very well and recieved many compliments. (Raeleigh took this picture of Jordan.)

Stuart and Raeleigh participated in "Do As I'm Doing" with the primary. Raeleigh is leading the Jumping Jacks in the orange shirt and Stuart is behind her to the left in the teal/green shirt. They all did a good job and had a good time.

First Day of School

School has started (Aug 10)!


Jordan a 7th grader.



















Raeleigh in 3rd grade. She made this sign for the picture. She was so excited for her first day of third grade.



















Stuart, also a 3rd grader.



















Morgan a high school junior.




















Samantha a high school Freshman!!





















Samantha wanted he eyes to show on the first day of school, so Morgan helped her with make-up!



















Patrick a high school junior. As always not thrilled to get his picture taken!


All the kids had a successful first day and are glad to be back in school and have a routine!

Stairs or Slide?

I was napping and I vaguely remember the kids asking if they could slide down the stairs. These are the pictures they took of each other.

Stuart and Raeleigh had a good time, I'm glad I wasn't watching!!

Liberty Elementary's Open House

Stuart and Raeleigh are so excited for school to begin. The day of the open house 6pm could not come soon enough! Look at their thrilled faces. You can also see in the sign that we got the time wrong and go to the school early. That meant time for pictures!! I like the little statue of liberty in front of their school (in above pictures). On July 4th was found Raeleigh's shirt. It says "Miss Liberty", she just had to have it for the first day of school.

Stuart and his friend Nick making their name-tags for their tables.

Stuart is a lucky boy. He has three teachers!!!

Here he is with Mrs West.

Stuart and Ms. Vida

Stuart and Ms. Dempsey.

Raeleigh and her teacher, Ms. Deppen.

We stopped by and they gave the kids school supplies that had been donated to the school. Stuart and Raeleigh were able to get all the necessary items needed for 3rd grade. They both had piles to carry out to the car!

Jordan went with us and visited his past teachers. He had a good night as well.

Lemonade Anyone?

Raeleigh begged to have a lemonade stand. Finally I gave in. She did decide to let Stuart help her. Morgan helped get the cooler of ice and with the poster. Also Morgan made sure they had everything set up outside. They sat outside for about 2 hours, and it was hot and humid. Both of them had a good time and were happy with the money they made.

They were so hot afterwards that we had lunch and then went to the YMCA to swim!

Inventor

Our Stuart still loves to create new things. I came downstairs last week to find his Hess Trucks taken apart. The pieces were all over the dinning table. I was not to happy about this, however, Stuart was thrilled. Later that same day Stuart took some of the truck parts and a tub (that is supposed to hold toys) and taped them together. He was pleased with his new "Tank".

I tried to get a closeup of the tank parts.

I love the grin on Stuart's face in the other picture.

Pine Wood Derby

Stuart had his Cub Scout Pine Wood Derby on May 20, 2009. He was so excited. The date had been moved a few times, so his car was ready for more than a month. It was hard to convince him not to play with the car, so it would still be "fast" the day of the race.

Grandpap helped Stuart make his car. Here Stuart is ready to take his car to the race.

The car was under weight, so he added coins, keys and tape to bring it up to weight!!

Racing his car!!

At the pack meeting on June 3, 2009, Stuart was awarded the ribbon for the most aerodynamic design. Way to go Stuart!

Stuart's Blue and Gold

To open the Cub Scout Pack Blue and Gold dinner, Stuart led the flag ceremony. He did very well with some help from Brother Beers.

Raeleigh had the camera and took several pictures. She took pictures of the boys getting their awards. Stuart earned his flag football and map and compass belt loop he earned. Good job Stuart.

Way to go Stuart!

For the Positive Behavior System (PBS) at Stuart and Raeleigh's school, there is a monthly awards ceremony. The whole school studies a new vocabulary word each week. Each word is to help the students build their character! The award ceremony is to celebrate the children who exemplify the words for the month. This month Stuart received the award for CONFIDENCE. A fitting award for our "little guy".

Stuart's Thanksgiving Feast

For a day and a half, Stuart's school class along with another class, cooked. They made a turkey and all the fixings! For about a week they made decorations and invitations. Stories about Thanksgiving were also written. Of course there were also rehersals for the performance and songs.

Tuesday morning the students decorated the classroom. There were pinecone turkeys, turkey napkin rings, woven placemats and name cards on the table. The walls had the pilgrims and ships the students colored, along with their stories. Also there were turkeys all over the wall. The room looked great.

Guests were seated as they arrived. When we were all there, the student came in in their costumes, singing. They lined up front of the classroom. Each of them read a part of the story about Thanksgiving four hundred years ago and today. It was awesome and all the parents/grandparents were thrilled. After the program, we all ate. The students were excited to try the food they had made. It was an awesome day.



This is Grandpap, Stuart and his cousin Austin.



Good job Stuart and classmates.

The students waiting in their costumes to go in and perform. They are so CUTE!

Our principal carved the turkey for everyone. I love that Mr Gifford gets involved in the classrooms. He knows each of the students names and who their parents are. Mr Gifford is a terrific principal.

Happy Birthday Stuart!

Stuart had a great birthday. Grandma and Grandpap Smith and Aunt Joy and Austin came over to celebrate with us. As you can see Austin blew out the candles with Stuart!



Stuart loves to build stuff. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said "Wood, some 2x4's." So that is what he got. One of the pictures is of Craig carrying in the 2x4's for Stuart. The Smith's also gave Stuart some wood and an awesome tool set in a Home Depot bag. He was most excited about all the screws and nails to hold stuff together. After opening everything, Stuart said that the first thing he is going to build will be for Austin. I love Stuart and that he enjoys doing for others. He is wonderful.

Stuart also got new bedding. He looks so cozy. Stuart is not so sure about having a sheet and a blanket on his bed. So we pushed the blanket up against the wall. Stuart hasn't liked bedding in the past, so we'll see how this goes!